


Marinette March

by Nakira Taisho (nakirataisho)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-11-08 10:36:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 12,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17979716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakirataisho/pseuds/Nakira%20Taisho
Summary: Just a collection of one-shots, drabbles, and headcanons forMarinette March





	1. Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The greatest acts of kindness are done without expectation of rewards beyond a smile...

It wasn't something that was earned, or even deserved in the slightest. But no one else was doing anything and even if it was an attempt to be nice, Chloé was _not_ acting even the slightest bit sour. When Marinette asked what the issue was, she didn't get an answer, but she checked her class calendar to find that it was the blonde's birthday.

"Does no one _know_ that it's her birthday?!" she raged to Tikki over lunch. "How did _I_ not know that it's her birthday!? I'm the class rep. I should know these things!"

"Maybe you've been preoccupied…?" Tikki hedged. "And surely Adrien--"

"He's the first person I asked about how she's been acting," she cut her Kwami off. "He had no idea what the problem was. Same when I asked Sabrina. They're her _only_ friends despite her improving…"

"Well, I'm sure she considers Ladybug a friend," Tikki sighed.

"That's not the same! She can't call _Ladybug_ for help when she's struggling to do better…maybe I can throw something together and do something for her," she groaned, digging through her yarn collection. "I can work up a scarf or something. I know she doesn't wear hats…" She grabbed a few balls of sparkly yarn and a crochet hook and shoved them in a bag before heading downstairs to the bakery.

"You're in a hurry to get back to school," her mother noted.

"Not exactly," she sighed. "Can we spare a cake for me to decorate for a classmate?"

"Of course, honey! What flavour?" Sabine asked amiably.

"Let's see…I don't know if I've ever seen her eat anything other than sushi…," she mumbled, thinking back. She seemed to remember at one point Chloé stealing the last slice of a chocolate cake, but that could have been just to make sure that someone didn't get a piece. "Maybe chocolate?" Her mother nodded and fetched a plain chocolate cake that had yet to be decorated.

"Do you want some help? Maybe I could make some fondant sushi? I have a new tool I've been wanting to try…and we have some rice treats leftover from the last big order…"

"Sure, Mom," she agreed, already getting a design in mind. "I think three pieces would be good…just to put in the corner. I'll work on frosting and setting up the piping." The two of them high fived and set to work.

* * *

The cake was finished in record time and Marinette put it in a box carefully before putting a cake knife in a sheathe and in her bag. She also made a call to the school to have enough plates brought up from the cafeteria for her whole class. She only had a few minutes left of lunch break, and she still wanted to find out which colour Chloé would prefer for a scarf. She shouldered her bags and gingerly picked up the cake, assuring her parents that she could manage.

As if luck was on her side, there were no problems that put a delay on her return to school. The stack of plates was already on Mme Bustier's desk and her teacher was looking at them in confusion. Most of the class appeared to have returned already from lunch, including Chloé. She shouldered her way into the room and put the cake in front of Chloé.

"What's this?" the blonde asked sourly. " _My_ desk isn't your storage space."

"Well, it's a good thing this is for you then," Marinette said lightly. Everyone in the room started murmuring.

"Marinette, does this have something to do with these plates and forks?" Mme Bustier asked.

"Yes. I just need a second to get the candles out," she laughed, putting her bags down. "And I have a question for you, Chloé. What colour would you prefer? Gold, silver, or blue? I have a shade that matches your eyes." She offered the bag of yarn to Chloé, who took it with the most priceless look of confusion.

"This is all very sweet, Marinette, but what's the occasion?" Mme Bustier pressed as Marinette pulled a few birthday candles and a lighter out of her bag, careful to make sure no one could see that the particular bag was actually empty otherwise.

"Does _anyone_ know what day today is? Because with the way the mayor is, you'd think this would be a city-wide holiday," she sighed, opening the box so that only Chloé could see that she'd neatly piped 'Happy Birthday Chloé' on the top of the cake. The girl's eyes went wide and Marinette could have sworn she saw tears.

"I don't think I understand your meaning, Marinette." She shook her head and lit the candles.

"I wasn't sure what flavour you would prefer, so I went with chocolate," she directed her attention on Chloé, wanting to afford every kindness to someone who clearly didn't get that from even her own family. "I'm sorry to delay class, but we do this for other students and teachers, so it's only fair that Chloé get recognized on her _birthday_." The entire room burst into shocked gasps. "So…make a wish and everyone can have cake."

Chloé paused a moment before blowing out the candles. After cutting the cake and handing out slices, which Lila declined with some story about an allergy. She paused before giving Adrien a slice, knowing that he was lactose intolerant. He grinned and took it from her with the quiet reassurance that he'd be okay. When Marinette came back to the front, Chloé handed her back the yarn bag and looked at her desk.

"The blue…," she mumbled.

"All right," she said with a grin, heading back to her desk after putting the leftover cake aside. Mme Bustier started her lecture while everyone ate their cake.

* * *

When class ended, Marinette had finished the scarf and she offered it to Chloé before the blonde left the school. Chloé looked at the scarf in surprise and then she looked Marinette over.

"Why?"

"It's your birthday," she said simply. "Honestly…I think it's sad that even your friends forgot about it."

"Well…you didn't have to."

"I know. I _wanted_ to," she told her, turning to leave. "You can have the leftover cake. Maybe give some to your butler or have a piece later."

"Okay…"

Marinette glanced back to see Chloé putting the scarf around her neck gingerly, smiling softly. She smiled as well and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	2. Pre Origins (Headcanons)

Because my first idea for a one-shot with the @marinettemarch theme wasn’t as positive as I would like, here are some little headcanons for Marinette before she became Ladybug

  * Marinette studied ballet from ages 7-10
  * Helped in the bakery from childhood and was cooking from the time she was tall enough to reach the back burner while standing on a stool
  * Got interested in fashion and design when she was 10, being part of the reason that she stopped dancing
  * Is only clumsy when she's not focused on what she's doing
  * Met Chloé and unintentionally got on her bad side when she was 7, being praised by their shared dance instructor while Chloé received the harshest critiques
  * Kept to herself and didn't have many friends before starting at Francoise Dupont



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	3. Tea Time

She called it Chinese lessons, but it was really just tea time. She had to make an excuse to set aside two hours of her Friday evenings, and it worked. In between discussions of the Miraculous, she and Fu would talk about the culture of China, and she studied Chinese at home in her own time to decipher her magic books.

Marinette sat in the front room of Fu's apartment, reading through the most recent magic book she'd been studying from. Fu returned with the tea and she put the book away. He sat across from her after setting the cups on the table. He put the tablet containing the photos of the Miraculous Spell Book on the table between them.

"I'm glad you could make it, Marinette," he said lightly.

"Well, it's our scheduled 'Chinese Lessons', so it's not like my parents would let me make plans during this time," she laughed. "The only thing that could stop me from coming to have tea with you is an Akuma."

"Have you been studying on your own?"

"Of course! My mom keeps asking about my progress…she's so excited that I've found someone to teach me about our culture since she doesn't have time with the Bakery…"

"Just be careful not to put too much on yourself, Marinette. You have to maintain a balance in your life…"

"I've got a handle on my schedule…for the most part. Hawkmoth throws his tantrums at pretty random times, so I'm struggling with attendance in school…," she sighed, sipping at her tea. "My teachers are pretty lenient and don't question my claim of having an over active bladder…and I've been maintaining my grades even with all of this. Anyways, we were going to talk about the Secondary Powers of the more powerful Miraculous?"

"Yes, you have a point. And I'm sure Tikki is guiding you through things," he sighed. "As you are aware, the Miraculous have unique abilities…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	4. Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short one that might lead into a longer fic later but I wanted to keep it more focused on Marinette and not Kagami winning her over...

Marinette was a very affectionate person. When she loved, she loved with everything she had, putting all of her efforts into caring for the object of her love. It was how Kagami realized that Marinette was in love with Adrien. Or at least…the idea of him. The boy was oblivious and clearly couldn't tell that Marinette was putting everything she had into him.

Kagami came to a conclusion. Marinette was focused on the wrong target and it was high time she received as much affection as she gave…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	5. Garden

Gardening was calming. Marinette could vent her daily frustrations on her flowers while watering them and they had no choice but to listen. She balanced the venting with friendly topics, having read that plants respond to emotion in chatter. Her plants knew everything about her classmates and friends. Tikki had commented that the plants were a safer outlet than her diary, but writing things down was her way of processing the day. Talking to her plants was completely different.

As she started hanging out with Kagami and Adrien more than her other friends, her venting became more 'gushing' as Tikki called it. The flowers were a few shades brighter with the more positive conversation. She'd accepted that her relationship with Adrien was meant to be friendly rather than romantic, and that made her less anxious interacting with him. Her friends couldn't seem to accept that idea and kept trying to push her. She reasoned to her garden that it was just that they thought she was giving up on a dream, but the flowers knew that wasn't the case.

Sometimes she felt that the flowers were her true best friends…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	6. Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creative magic can be unpredictable

It was a lovely gift, just needed a few extra touches to make it more suitable for Marinette. Of course, she didn't have the supplies she needed while on tour with Jagged. He had bought her a Smart Doll while they were in Tokyo on his world tour. He said it was a thanks for all her hard work keeping the wardrobe and designs in order. Of course, she'd liked the look of the dolls enough that she bought a male doll with her own money.

When she got back to the hotel, she set the dolls up in her room and set to work. There were scraps of leather in her materials from the event, just enough to piece together a bodysuit for her male doll. She dug out some red and black fabric and gold thread. She enchanted the fabric to replicate her and Chat Noir's suits and went about drawing designs for the pair. She shifted back to work for the tour and lost track of time and the spell.

After looking over and sketching out stage design for the next concert, she looked up to see the two dolls were gone. She gasped and looked to see if they fell off the table. Her eyes went wide as she saw the two miniature heroes literally sparring with their stands. Her creative magic must have brought them to life when their suits were finished!

"Oh…this is going to be hard to explain…," she mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	7. Side Effects

A scream and loud crash rang out through the Dupain-Cheng home and Sabine was the one to respond to it, rushing up to Marinette's room. She found her daughter sprawled on the floor staring blankly at the ceiling. Sabine hurried to help Marinette up.

"What happened?" Sabine asked gently.

"I…fell out of bed," Marinette mumbled. "I'm fine though…sorry if I scared you guys…"

"Are you sure, Marinette? You've never fallen out of bed…," Sabine sighed, checking her daughter for a temperature.

"I'm sure, Mom…but maybe some tea would be good?" Marinette suggested and Sabine reluctantly accepted the suggestion, seeing that Marinette wasn't injured or running a fever.

She went down to the kitchen and put some tea on.

* * *

Marinette glared at Tikki. She had woken up stuck to the ceiling like some sort of Spiderman knockoff. The Kwami simply shrugged and flew out to the roof. Marinette followed her and started to demand answers when she saw that overnight her small garden had turned into a veritable forest.

"Tikki, what is going on?!" she demanded.

"Well, stuff like this tends to happen when someone has a Miraculous for a while. Especially someone as…in tune…with the related powers as you are. Taking on aspects of the animal that is aligned with your Miraculous…unconscious use of smaller parts of my powers…," Tikki explained. "It doesn't happen this strongly that often…in fact it's been a few hundred years since I had a holder this compatible…"

"Great…just great. Another thing for me to worry about. I'm not going to start like…growing flowers everywhere I step right?"

"Oh no, a human gaining parts of my powers would only be able to expand on things that already exist. Like your garden growing like this…or a dead lawn coming back to life when you step on it…that kind of thing."

"And you couldn't warn me about these side effects sooner? So, I didn't…you know…freak out my parents?"

"Well…you were going to get to it soon in discussions with the Guardian…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	8. Partners

Marinette had many different kinds of partners. There were her heroic partners, Chat Noir, Vixyn, Carapace, Queen Bee and the other heroes helping to fight the threats to their city. Then, she had her business partners in the fashion industry. And then, she had Kagami. A romantic partner sometimes seemed too much to balance with her busy and sometimes erratic schedule, but it was worth it.

Even if they didn't know that she was Ladybug, the temporary heroes were also some of her best friends. She trusted all of the other heroes with her life, some more than others, but they were still people she trusted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	9. Dreams

_A large home at the edge of Paris, full of plants and creativity. It was a lovely scene. Marinette had imagined it for ages and signing the deed was a dream come true. She was freshly married and her business was already well under way. The house had everything they needed for business and family. The absolute best part of it all was that Ladybug was no longer needed. She didn't put away her Miraculous to retire from being a hero, but she did the same as previous heroes and simply kept to herself._

_She had a large garden to tend, a large studio for designing, and they had a personal gym to practice fencing and fighting forms in. There was room for their children to play in when they had them. She was already looking into adoption agencies. Everything was going right…but it was too perfect. She saw herself in the mirror and her eyes had been permanently dyed blue by her Miraculous. She looked at her new spouse to find that they were blond with green eyes, the one that she had once imagined herself in a similar home with. It wasn't right._

"Ladybug!" a sharp voice cried out. "Wake up!"

Ladybug's blue eyes snapped open, breaking away from the dream that wasn't completely her own. She shook her head to clear it and took in the situation. Chat Noir was unconscious on the ground, smiling as he was trapped in his own dream. A tendril of golden sand floated towards him, solidifying into a hand and aiming for his ring. Kitsune was the one to call to her and draw her back to the real world.

She made a few gestures with her hands and created magical shields around herself and her teammates. A flash of yellow above her told her that Queen Bee had gotten tired of watching this situation. She was accompanied by a blonde in green with a parasol. Ladybug grinned and the battle began anew. She called for her Lucky Charm and nearly cursed at the fact that the best way she could find to use it was with the entire team.

"Kitsune, try and wake up Chat Noir!" she called out. "Bee! Cover me! I hope you're the new Turtle, because we need some major defense." The other heroines nodded in response and they set to work.

"He's hopeless!" Kitsune shouted after a minute of trying to wake Chat Noir. "I'm going to fight fire with fire. Illusion!" She cast her illusion and it was enough to distract the villain long enough for Bee to use Venom. Ladybug found the infected object and held onto it as she threw her Lucky Charm into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" she shouted and the object dissolved into thousands of ladybugs that flew around Paris waking the citizens from their magical sleeps. The cloud they had been fighting on dissolved beneath them and the group began falling just as Chat Noir woke up.

"Shell-ter!" the new hero shouted, opening her parasol and summoning the magical shield below them. Their fall was slowed and they drifted to the nearest roof. When her feet were firmly on solid ground, Ladybug released the Akuma and purified it.

 _Big dreams can wait_ , she thought as she introduced herself to the new hero and got her name. _Right now, my only dream is to defeat Hawkmoth_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	10. Video Games

Marinette loved video games. Besides practicing Savate with her father, gaming was where they bonded. Fighting games were their favourites to play together. Tom had experience over her, but she had quick fingers and sharp reasoning, always able to come out on top even when it looked like her father was going to win. It really was a passion of hers.

It was a big reason she had wanted to participate in the UMS3 tournament (besides finding something she could bond with Adrien over). She had only attempted to back out because she hadn't realized that _Max_ would get so bent out of shape over being beaten out by a girl. She shouldn't have been surprised by that. She played a few free MMORPGs and the general attitude in those games was that she was somehow lesser or cheating because she was a girl. She had been excited to try out a new MMO when she could afford the monthly subscription to it.

She was especially excited about the game when she joined a guild and found that most of their members were girls, confirmed in voice chat. It made video games all the more enjoyable for her, knowing that there were plenty of other girls out there with the same interest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	11. Guardian

It had been a matter of time. Fu was an old man, nearly two hundred years old when Marinette had met him. It was a shame that his long life ended before Hawkmoth was defeated. It was with a heavy heart that they had him cremated and the heroes who knew him gathered for a small memorial. Fu had left everything he owned to Marinette, including the Miraculous Box. She offered the responsibility of guarding the Miraculous to Celeste, arguing that the woman was more experienced and stronger.

"You're the one he chose to take over the job, Marinette," Celeste told her, setting the box down. "Believe in yourself. You've achieved more in your own personal studying of magic than I ever did with formal training under Fu. You have done everything you set your mind to, from what I've seen, and you can continue to do that."

"I…still have a lot to learn," she mumbled, touching the box. "There's so much he meant to teach me…"

"I can help teach you what I know," Celeste promised. Marinette was grateful for her support. She still felt she wasn’t ready, but she took the burden on like she took everything else, intent on doing the job to the best of her ability.

So, she took the box to the team’s personal room at the hotel and locked the box in a specific spot using magic. Chat Noir wasn’t told where she hid them, nor were any other heroes. She couldn’t risk anyone else finding out who she was. Especially now that she was the official Guardian…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	12. Phone Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like Pre-Origins, I decided to do headcanons for this day. My reasoning this time is that I couldn’t think of a proper scenario without making Marinette look bad short of rewriting a scene in canon…

  * Most of her phone thefts have been unintentional
  * Kim is the only one who knows that it happens a lot and occasionally calls her ‘Sticky Fingers’ because of it
  * The only time she snatches a phone is when she does something embarrassing she wants to erase and not call attention to
  * Usually, she fails in her attempts unless the phone is unlocked when she gets hold of it
  * Many times that she snatches a phone, the owner is actually unaware that their phone was ever missing



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	13. Akumanette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a preview of an actual chapter later in my rewrite. Took a bit of work to keep it mostly spoiler free...

"You think _that's_ what this is about?!" she shouted, barely containing herself. "First you were calling my suspicions extreme jealousy over Adrien, and now it's because I'm jealous of her popularity outshining the popularity I _never_ asked for! I've brought _evidence_ disproving her stories to _everyone_ in our class! You can ask Adrien! He was there when--" She stopped herself. "But you don't want to hear the truth since it doesn't match the unverified but popular story." She stormed out of the cafeteria and to the bathroom. She felt hot tears flowing down her cheek and she rubbed her eyes, trying to calm down. She heard the door open, but ignored it.

"Marinette?" Lila asked, her tone sickly sweet. "Oh, are you crying?"

"No," she bit, wiping her face and setting her expression. _Just a couple more hours…that's all I have to deal with her lies_ , she thought, trying to calm down. "I'm not."

"I can sense that you don't like me, but I don't understand why. We barely know each other…," Lila sighed. That was true, but Marinette couldn't stand liars. "Don't tell me it's because of this new seating arrangement in class!"

"I guess my yelling at Alya was in your 'bad ear'," she muttered sourly.

"You're jealous because I'm getting to spend more time with Adrien than you now…aren't you? It's not worth it to fight over a boy…you and I could be friends…and who knows? Maybe I could help--"

"You and I will _only_ be friends if you stop lying, Lila!" she snapped. "I _work_ with Jagged Stone, Ladybug, _and_ Prince Ali. Of course, if you'd like a business card and verify that with my temporary assistant, you're more than welcome to it." Lila narrowed her eyes.

"Look, I only tell people what they want to hear," the girl ground out, stepping towards Marinette. On instinct, because she didn't have a weapon or the mental focus to use magic to defend herself as Lila advanced on her, she backed away.

"It's called lying!" she shouted.

"There's nothing you can do about it, anyway," Lila laughed, taking another step. "People can't resist when they hear what they _like_ to hear. If you don't want to be my friend, fine! But soon you won't have any friends left at all, and trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere!" with every word, Lila advanced on Marinette, using her taller physique to her advantage until Marinette was pinned against the wall. "You seem a little less dumb than the others, so I'll give you one last chance. You're either with me, or against me. You don't have to answer right away…I'll give you till the end of class today." Before Marinette could say anything, Lila started for the door. "And if you're against me, well…I'll completely _destroy_ you." She slammed out of the bathroom and Marinette went into a stall to fume.

"I thought Chloé was evil before, but Lila really makes her and her mother look like freaking _angels_!" Marinette growled. "She's like a supervillain without a costume!"

"You mustn't let her get to you, Marinette," Tikki reminded her, flying out of her bag.

"It's not just Lila!" she snapped, punching the wall of the stall. "It's everyone! Especially Alya! You'd think my so-called best friend would be willing to take my word on something!"

Tikki tried to reassure her that her friends were just being teenagers, but that didn't help. These were people she'd gone out of her way to help and even put herself in tough situations over. Marinette never asked for her generosity to be rewarded, but she thought that she'd at least built a level of trust with them. Instead, they just did what teenagers do and ignore the less sensational teens unless it was convenient.

She vaguely heard the bathroom door open, and possibly even a voice, but she was too frustrated to be sure. She was so angry about the whole situation that there was a slight ringing in her ears. Going back to class would definitely just make her feel worse.

"Marinette, look out!" Tikki shouted. Marinette looked up to see an Akuma flying towards her _earrings_. She jumped back and put herself in the corner, covering her ears protectively.

"An Akuma!" Marinette gasped.

"You can resist it, Marinette," Tikki told her. "Hawkmoth's power only effects people who think there's no solution to their problems! And you always find a solution. We can't afford for you to get taken over again." Marinette paused and glared at her Kwami. She understood where she was coming from, but that was the _wrong thing to say_ to try and help her calm down.

"I'm allowed to have emotions, Tikki," Marinette argued. "And if it's not me, it'll be someone else. Don't let me see you." She chanted a short spell in Chinese under her breath and suddenly she was a normal girl again, with no memory of any sort of heroics beyond her acts of kindness to her friends. She pulled out the charm that Adrien gave her and held it out as if considering it. The Akuma took the bait and flew into the charm rather than her earrings.

"Justicia," Hawkmoth's voice rang through her head, sweet and sickening. "I'm giving you the power to reveal the truth to all of your so-called friends…all you have to do in exchange is bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"Okay, Hawkmoth," she accepted the power and after the transformation, she felt like she was walking on air. She stepped out of the bathroom stall and found that the door to the bathroom was swinging shut, as if someone had fled the room. It didn't matter, since she'd be blocking all the exits in a moment anyways. As long as Lila and Alya didn't manage to escape, she was fine. She paused to look at her reflection.

There was barely any change in her appearance. Her skin was a little paler than normal, her hair a bright pink, and she was wearing a floral sun dress with strips of fabric hanging loose from the waistband. Her arms and legs were wrapped in strips of fabric, the lay of the wrapping reminiscent of sports wrapping. She giggled and skipped out of the bathroom. She couldn't help but giggle again as she wrapped the school in fabric, trapping the students inside and only leaving the open roof available as an entrance. She called for Lila again as she jumped to the courtyard. Students from other classes trickled out, but she ignored them.

Her targets were her own classmates and the Miraculous, though she was more concerned with dealing with her backstabbing, gullible 'friends' first. She tapped her foot impatiently when no one of importance came to investigate her shouting.

"Lila Rossi!" She shouted as loud as she could, going into the cafeteria. When she spotted the liar, faking tears and spouting some story, she lifted her hand, sending a strip of fabric to tightly wrap around the girl. "You should really answer when your name is called," she snapped, pulling on the fabric to drag Lila to her.

"Marinette?!" Rose gasped. Justicia glared at her and wrapped the entire class in fabric with a flick of her wrist. She giggled at how easy it was and dragged them all into the courtyard. She took a look at the group and smiled when she saw that Alya already had her phone out. There was no sign of Chloé, but she had actually listened to her, so she wasn't concerned about the yellow clad brat. And she figured since she didn't see Adrien either, Chloé had rescued him somehow before she made it to the cafeteria.

"You're streaming?" She asked amiably. Alya nodded dumbly. "Great. Saves me a step. Since they're probably watching somewhere…I have something to say to Ladybug and Chat Noir. If you're not here in half an hour ready to hand over your Miraculous, I'll start throwing these backstabbing students of Francois DuPont towards the seine…can't guarantee they'll land in the water though," she laughed. "Now that's out of the way…let's get started, shall we?"

She started interrogating the class, though admittedly she found herself easily distracted and she broke off into tangents. She wasn't really paying attention to the time, she'd just start throwing them when she got bored. She finally got to Lila and noted that the girl looked terrified.

"Not so brave now, huh?" she taunted. "So, tell your new friends the truth."

"The truth? I've _been_ telling them the truth!" Lila shouted and Justicia began cackling.

"You've deluded yourself into believing your own lies?! That's hilarious!" She calmed down and looked at Alya. "How long has it been, Miss _Reporter_? Or would you rather 'Tabloid Writer'? Since you can't be bothered to fact check _any_ of your stories so long as they pull in hits."

"You're being ridiculous, Marinette! I only post facts!" Alya snapped. "And…," she swallowed nervously. "It's been half an hour…"

"Well, that's that then. Guess our heroes couldn't be bothered to come save their 'close friend' Lila," the villain laughed. She decided to start with Lila, separating her strips of cloth. She dragged Lila into the air as she leapt to the roof.

"Put her down, Marinette!" Chloé shouted from across the building. Justicia looked over to see Queen Bee and Chat Noir heading towards her. No sign of Ladybug, but she could be patient.

"Where's Ladybug?" Hawkmoth asked her and she shrugged, choosing to ignore him.

"Not Marinette~!" the villain laughed. "It's Justicia _this_ time. And where's the other bug?"

"Help me!" Lila screeched.

"Either way," Chat tried, stepping towards her. "Put the girl down and we can talk this out."

"Hm…," she tapped her chin and spun Lila like she would a yo-yo before throwing her towards the Seine. The rest of the class started freaking out. "There, the liar's down. Hopefully she lands in the water and can swim."

"How could you?!" Alya gasped. "She's never done anything to you except going after Adrien!"

"You really don't know how to listen to anyone if they aren't saying what you want to hear, huh? I'm pretty sure I just pointed out that she's an absolute _liar_ ," she snapped before going into detail about how easy it would be for them to disprove everything that came out of Lila's mouth. She found herself frozen mid word and vaguely heard Hawkmoth cursing in her head before silence fell and she found herself standing on the roof of the school and almost all evidence of her akumatization vanished.

She vaguely remembered what happened as Chat Noir helped her down to the second floor where her classmates were still frozen in shock. If she was honest, whatever she'd done, she felt a lot better. She also got the feeling she hadn't done anything too bad, and with the way they'd treated her, well they probably didn't deserve whatever extreme she'd gone to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	14. Restore

Marinette hardly had time to go to the Louvre. It was one of her favourite places before she became Ladybug, because it was a source of inspiration. It seemed like ever since Hawkmoth had started his terrorism, she only ever went to the museum if it was because of an Akuma. Even when she went with Alya to the Egyptology exhibit, that was Ladybug related before the Akuma showed up. Her art class at her new school went to the Louvre for a field trip, but all of the art had been taken down and replaced with bad photographs.

"What happened to all the art?" the teacher had asked their guide. "My students can't get the full experience without seeing the actual pieces…"

"Well, we didn't want to close the museum, but a group of experts came by to verify a new piece that was donated and they noticed something strange about the rest of the exhibits. The works are being examined right now…," the guide explained. "If you'd rather reschedule your tour for when the examinations are complete…"

"Excuse me…?" Marinette piped up, curious. "What was strange about them?"

"Well, a few pieces that haven't been touched by restoration teams or were restored poorly years ago in ways that couldn't be reversed…they were suddenly properly restored. Some more recent acquisitions have been losing restorative marks as well…"

"That's interesting…when did this happen?" the teacher asked.

"It may have started when Ladybug appeared," one student suggested. "She always fixes everything…maybe she fixed the art too?"

Marinette worried her lip a little and they continued the tour. She decided to talk to Fu about it after the field trip. The teacher promised to bring them by for a better tour another time so they could properly do their homework.

* * *

After the class returned to the school and the day was done, Marinette went to Fu's Shoppe. They went through the usual greetings and settling in and she stared at her tea for a long moment before taking a sip. She was trying to figure out how to word her question.

"Something is bothering you," Fu guessed.

"Not exactly bothering me…my class went on a trip to the Louvre today…and all of the paintings had been removed to be examined. Apparently, they were in varying states of restoration with no one touching them…"

"Let me ask you something, Marinette," he started and she nodded, half expecting one of his cryptic proverbs. "Do you care about art?"

"Of course! I'm a designer…I take inspiration from creators before…," she murmured.

"Part of your power is restoration. Not just of what was damaged by magic, but in a more gradual way, the things you care about. If you care about architecture, for example, every time you used your power to repair the effects and damage from an Akuma, a piece of architecture would be restored a little closer to its original state."

"Like…rust on the Eiffel Tower vanishing…the elevator working a bit better…that kind of thing?" He nodded in reply. "Is that something that happens with every Ladybug?"

"In a way, yes. The more compatible a holder is with Tikki's power, the stronger their restorative abilities. You are the most compatible holder I've seen in my lifetime," he told her. "I'm glad that I lived long enough to find you."

"Would things have been different…?" she mused.

"Every decision we make effects the world and people around us. If I had chosen someone else for the Earrings, or even the Cat Ring, things may well have become very different than we know. You are a versatile spirit, Marinette. You could potentially be just as compatible with another Miraculous as the Earrings…but, as it stands, your compatibility is the cause of your enhanced restorative powers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	15. Support

For several months, the only other hero that Paris saw was Queen Bee. Then, one day Ladybug brought a new fox into the team. Kitsune was not happy with being a support hero with simple illusions and a staff at her disposal. They had defeated the enemy easily and there was no trouble in retrieving the Miraculous. Kitsune understood her responsibilities and took her limitations as a temporary hero seriously. She didn't even demand an explanation for having to return the Pendant.

"Good choice on that one, Milady," Chat Noir complemented on being told her identity. "But…why?"

"Alya…can't be trusted to support the team," Ladybug said carefully. She couldn't tell him why she felt that way.

"Yeah…I guess…but if it's about what happened on Hero's Day…she did take that shot to protect Carapace…"

"Hero's Day isn't the problem. There was the moment during that battle that she left Queen Bee open when she had a chance to defend her, simply because of her bias against Chloé," Ladybug sighed. "She prioritized defending her boyfriend over the rest of us. It's not possible for us to work as a team if we can't support each other."

"And there's her blog," Chloé pointed out. "Beyond the fact that she had a hand in Marinette's last Akumatization…She couldn't even be bothered to be supportive of her supposed best friend's suspicions about a liar using people that Marinette works with as a boost for her stories."

"Okay, you both have valid points," Chat conceded. "So…what about Nino?"

"He was right beside Alya, ganging up on Marinette…when Lila was obviously making his best friend uncomfortable. All he seemed to care about was that Lila's pretty obvious lies were being questioned."

"And he did the same as Alya on Hero's Day," Chat sighed. "I saw him look right at and ignore an attack that hit Chloé…I guess we'll be looking for a new turtle, since the Guardian is way too old for field work…"

"We'll need someone unbiased and willing to offer support to the entire team."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	16. Triumph

They had finally won. Hawkmoth was defeated. He had managed to bring on a repeat of Hero's Day, but they had been just as prepared as he and his allies were. They had split up for the battle. They had discussed the possibility of another attack like that and made plans. They divided by who was most compatible. Paon Royal and Fledermaus had worked together for years, and they had the advantage of Fledermaus' magical skills; Ladybug went with Queen Bee, moving so in sync as to suggest they were born to work together despite their difficult past; Chat Noir and Cherepakha teamed up, seeing that Chat could use a shield with his open fighting; Kitsune went solo, planning to slip around to attack as needed. The enemy didn't know what had hit them. Hawkmoth and his allies were blown out of the water in the conflict. The last team had been thrown together, this one was organized and trained.

One by one, Hawkmoth and his so-called army was defeated and the misused Miraculous seized. The man in question was cornered. Poetically in the same place they'd cornered him before. This time, however, he didn't have any surprise allies available. Fledermaus was given the honours of removing his Miraculous. She gave the Miraculous to Ladybug and the girl put the Miraculous in a box. She turned to the others and handed the Miraculous to Paon Royal before turning back to the revealed villain. She clenched her fists and punched him in the jaw.

The man who had called himself Hawkmoth was arrested and the city was finally safe. There was a huge festival to celebrate. Ladybug and Chat Noir finally revealed themselves to each other. And then…the Miraculous were hidden away from the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	17. Failure

It was over. Marinette lay pinned to the ground as the Akuma held her earrings. She looked over to see a detransformed Chat Noir unconscious nearby. She struggled against her enemy, trying to get the earrings and the ring back before they could get the jewels to Hawkmoth. The Akuma put their foot to Marinette's throat and the girl struggled for air. The world went black and she mumbled an apology to Tikki for failing.

* * *

Tikki had hoped it wouldn't come to this. It was a desperate situation. When Hawkmoth activated the two Miraculous and she and Plagg realized just what had happened to their holders, they put their paws together and used the power themselves to trade the lives of Hawkmoth and his loyal assistant, who had just committed the murder, for the lives of their holders. They were blown apart in the event and awoke within the Miracle Box. None of the other Kwamis were aware they were even gone, and suddenly they were brought out of the box.

Fu explained to them that the Butterfly had been stolen and they would be given to new holders to stop him. The two Kwami looked at each other, realizing that they had failed in controlling the magic and they had to go through that long fight all over again. This time, however, they would make sure to never fail again. Tikki wasn't sure about Plagg, but she would never let Marinette go through that. She had failed her best and most powerful Ladybug.

That wouldn't happen again…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I was going to do a sort of reel of memorials for Marinette/Ladybug a la Spiderverse but decided that was too morbid and I made myself cry trying to come up with it)  
> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	18. Fears

After Sandboy was taken care of and things sorted with Master Fu, Marinette went home and sat curled in her bed. Tikki floated by her, questioning her. She waved her off and put her chin on her knees. Her worst fears had just been put out for everyone to see, and she was glad that the Kagami of her nightmares hadn't followed her to the battle. That could have revealed her identity to Chat Noir.

It was odd though, she had thought that her worst nightmare would be losing the friends she had worked so hard to make, or even her Akumatized self returning. But as far as Sandboy's spell was concerned, her worst fear was that Kagami had been stringing her along to get to Adrien. It made sense, really. She hated liars and having the person she cared about most in the world lying to her was a terrifying thing to imagine. She didn't _want_ to imagine how that would feel. The idea terrified her, but she couldn’t get the image out of her head. She felt Tikki put a paw on her shoulder and she realized that she'd started crying.

She wiped her face and smiled weakly at her Kwami. She almost told Tikki about the nightmare images conjured by the Akuma, but she didn't want to burden her Kwami with her petty teenage fears. It was her issue to work out. The only fear that Tikki had to worry about was her fear of failing as Ladybug. But as long as she had friends and a good team that she could trust, she could shove _that_ fear to the back of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	19. New Look

Marinette cursed herself as she looked in the mirror. She had been out on patrol and jumped in to protect a civilian from stray gunfire in a robbery. While she was helping the police get the situation under control, a bullet had grazed her jaw and ripped through a chunk of her hair. Fortunately for her secrets, she was able to sneak into the house and heal her wound with magic. Her hair, however, there was nothing she could do to save that.

"You were just trying to help," Tikki assured her. "Accidents happen."

"Yeah, and I'm going to have to explain to everyone why I suddenly decided to chop my hair!" she hissed. "And at the same time Ladybug's hair is going to end up different too. That'll be suspicious and a certain someone could make the right reach!"

"You're talking about the girl who saw Chloe cosplaying as Ladybug and immediately assumed that the secretive hero of Paris would openly carry around parts of her costume? A month away from a holiday where everyone dresses up in costumes, no less."

"True…and when I got cast as Ladybug in that music video, even with the mask no one recognized me…"

"So you have nothing to worry about! Your transformation changes your appearance just enough to make this work out. Ladybug has wide blue eyes and dark blue hair, you have adorable narrow grey eyes and black hair. A haircut isn't going to make people suspect you."

"Okay, you've made your point…," she sighed, grabbing a pair of scissors. Fortunately, she'd surveyed the scene and the damaged hair hadn't changed colour when it was off of her head. To be on the safe side, she concentrated on the crime scene and opened a small portal to reach in and retrieve the clump of hair. She then grabbed a pair of scissors and set to evening out her hair.

* * *

The next day, she went on a picnic with Adrien and Kagami. She put on a sundress and grabbed a wide brimmed hat and examined herself. She wasn't used to having shorter hair, but she felt cute, so it was good enough. Of course, her parents questioned her hair when she got downstairs, but she shrugged it off as a whim.

When she made it to the picnic, both of her friends immediately raved about the haircut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	20. Dressed Up

Marinette had been invited to a gala at the Louvre. Well, she was Kagami's date for the gala. The event was to open a new exhibit dedicated to the city's superheroes. The hardest part of the event was going to be dealing with attending as both herself and Ladybug. She had a plan, however, and just the right spell to pull it off.

She'd done it before, and Ladybug was only needed for a short amount of time. Marinette's mother helped her with her hair, pinning it up in a traditional Chinese style. She had dramatic makeup on already and once her hair was pinned, she finished getting dressed. Keeping with the theme of the evening, she'd gone with a design inspired by a painting in the Spell Book of an ancient Chinese Peacock holder.

The dress was a simple, ankle-length Cheongsam in a deep blue that faded to turquoise from her knees. She had embroidered peacock feathers in the silk. The one thing about the design that wasn't traditional, was Marinette's brand signature embroidered in the eye of one of lower feathers. She went downstairs after getting her dress situated.

Her father held up his phone and she posed for him to take a picture. She yelped and held up her hands. He paused and questioned her.

"I forgot my hairpin!" she gasped and ran back to her room. The hair pin was sitting on her bathroom counter. She hurried back downstairs and handed the pin to her mother. Sabine threaded the piece into Marinette's hair and stepped back.

"Oh, it completes the look perfectly!" Sabine raved. "Where did you get it?"

"Gabriel made it when I mentioned I was designing something inspired by Paon Royal," she said lightly, taking up her pose for her father's camera. He grinned and snapped the photo.

"Look at you…VIP guest at a gallery opening…," he gushed.

"Dad, I'm just Kagami's date…," she sighed. "Her mother helped sponsor the exhibit…"

"That makes you a VIP, sweetie," Sabine reminded her. "And didn't you say that they asked _you_ to make a replica of Ladybug's suit?"

"Well…yes…okay, I get it," she mumbled, blushing brightly. Her phone went off. "Oh, Kagami's here…," she sighed. Her parents grinned and went outside with her. Kagami stepped out of the waiting limousine and smiled at her.

"You look beautiful," the fencer greeted. Marinette looked the girl over, admiring her Ladybug themed Yukata.

"So do you…," Kagami laughed and they got in the car.

* * *

[Hair reference](https://goo.gl/images/wyoGQ8)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	21. Tactician

Why had she agreed to this? Another double date with Adrien. This time, Adrien was the one to offer the date, saying that since it was an escape room that Luka was inviting him to, it would be better with friends. So, she said she'd talk to Kagami. Her girlfriend agreed, saying that it would be fun. It was a Saturday afternoon and the place wasn't busy, so they would have all the time in the world to get through the maze.

They got to the building just as a staff member came out into the lobby from resetting the rooms. They got signed in and were led to a room to start. The door was locked behind them and the group of teens looked around.

"This would be easier if they had given us a hint…," Adrien mumbled.

"That's half the fun of these things," Luka encouraged. "This first room should have at least enough clues to figure out the theme. Juleka and I did one of these with Rose a few weeks ago."

Marinette unconsciously went into Ladybug planning mode. She heard her friends asking her something, but she was already focused on figuring things out. She spotted a familiar necklace hanging from a hook on the wall and walked over to investigate it.

"Miraculous…," she mumbled, lifting it from the hook. "The theme is Paris' heroes…" She looked around and spotted a few Peacock feathers on a table. "See if we can find everything that's themed after the Miraculous. Those are probably the clues."

"Brilliant!" Adrien gasped. She smiled a little and continued searching the room. Besides the door they came in through, there weren't any exits to be seen. She frowned a little, contemplating. There was a crevice in the wall.

"Could it be that simple…?" She ran her finger along the edges of the crevice. It seemed shaped like a comb. "Has anyone found the Bee?"

"Right here!" Adrien called, holding up a replica of the Bee Miraculous.

"I found Ladybug's earrings," Luka called out.

"I have Chat Noir's ring," Kagami said lightly. "Do you already have this figured out?"

"I think so…," she looked over the wall. She found the outline of the Fox Miraculous and pressed the pendant into the recess. When she pulled her hand back, the pendant stayed in place. "We need as many of the replicas as we can find." She turned around and grabbed the found replicas before heading back to the wall. She found the slots and fitted them in.

It was moments before they found the rest of the Miraculous and Marinette put them in the wall. A hidden door swung open. The others cheered and they went into the next room. This one had all of Ladybug's Lucky Charms scattered around the room and Marinette smirked. They had to give them a challenge based around the superheroes.

* * *

In the end, the group ended up solving the escape room in record time (according to the staff) and Marinette was playfully forbidden from escape rooms.

"Having someone so brilliant takes away half the fun," Luka joked.

"Are you kidding?" Kagami laughed. "That was brilliant, Marinette. I knew you were tactful in fencing, but that was some wonderful planning back there."

"Yeah, we probably would have been stuck in that first room for a while if you hadn't been there to make the connections with the Miraculous replicas," Adrien said. Their praise left Marinette blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	22. Rare Pair

It didn't take long for Marinette to realize that Kagami was trying to woo her. After all, the girl wasn't subtle about her feelings. She found it sweet and after months of doing everything she could to try and tell Adrien that she was in love with him, Marinette found Kagami's romantic gestures too endearing to pass up. So, she gave her a chance. Their first date was amazing. Kagami treated Marinette to dinner at the restaurant in Le Gran Paris and then they went to see a private showing of one of Marinette's favourite movies.

"You're amazing, Marinette, anyone who makes you feel otherwise is an idiot," Kagami told her as the limousine drove to the bakery afterwards.

"You're awesome too, Kagami," she told her. "I had the best time." The car parked and Kagami walked with Marinette all the way to the front door of the apartment above the bakery, their fingers laced together.

"May I?" Kagami asked when they got to the door, gently touching Marinette's chin. Her cheeks went red and all she could manage was a nod. Kagami smiled and kissed her gently. Marinette felt like she was going to melt, but she kissed Kagami in return.

They broke apart before going too far and Marinette went into the apartment. Kagami was still standing at the door when it closed, smiling. Marinette's parents swarmed her, curious about her date. She barely managed to string a coherent 'it was amazing' before she went to her room and flopped onto her chaise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	23. Family

Marinette's family meant everything to her. Even if her parents were the supportive but distant type. She always felt bad about telling them about being bullied, or that she was struggling to make friends. They were too busy with the bakery. So, she kept her problems to herself and talked to her garden about her troubles.

She drew in her sketchbook and made as much as she could. She tried to only tell her parents in detail about good things, not wanting to make them worry. Occasionally her paternal grandmother would visit and she always had fun with her. She learned Italian from her Nona and dreamed of going on adventures like the older woman described of her travels.

She hardly knew anyone from her mother's family. She'd met her grandparents and an aunt once when her mother took her to the family's rural hometown for a visit. Her mother had been teaching her the local variation of Chinese that she grew up with so she could properly communicate with their relatives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	24. Girl Squad

Marinette found herself swarmed by her friends the day after her first date with Kagami. She wasn't surprised, really. She'd been unable to get her mind off the fencer all morning and she found herself sighing dreamily when she remembered the night before. Adrien gave her a knowing look when he saw the state she was in.

"I guess you had fun last night?" he asked.

"Oh yeah…it was perfect…," she told him. "I can't wait for practice after school."

"I can imagine," he laughed and sat down. Lunch rolled around and all of the girls swarmed her in the cafeteria.

"Okay, what's got you on cloud nine, girl?" Alya demanded. Marinette grinned and started to tell her about the date.

"Did you finally confess to Adrien?" Alix asked, cutting her off. She frowned and decided to let them get it out.

"Oh, did you go on a date with him?!" Rose gushed. Juleka had a knowing look on her face, but didn't say anything. Marinette had the feeling that her tall friend had her mind in a gutter.

"Guys, give her a chance to breathe," Mylene reprimanded. "But how did it go?"

"It was amazing…," she told them. "We went to dinner at the Gran Paris restaurant…then her mom paid for a private showing of one of my favourite movies…and afterwards…she walked me to the apartment and…I got my first kiss!"

"Wait… _she_?" they all gasped. She couldn't help but laugh at their dumbfounded expressions.

"Yeah. I went out with Kagami last night and it was wonderful. Oh gosh, I'll have to ask to spar with Adrien or someone else today in practice! I won't be able to focus like usual if I'm sparring with her…I'd probably just want to yank her helmet off and kiss her all day…"

"Wait…so you're just…giving up on Adrien?" Alya asked. "After all the crazy plans and obsessing…"

The others joined in the arguing, but she ignored them. They didn't know Kagami, so she could understand their hesitation. She finally told them that she _had_ in fact, confessed to Adrien. The girls seemed more shocked that she'd managed to get out a full sentence to Adrien than that he'd told her that he was in love with someone else already.

They were so supportive of her, even if they had tried to push her into situations that made things worse. She always just embarrassed herself when her girlfriends were involved in the planning. And now, they couldn't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that Marinette had moved on to someone who was also interested in her. Well, they were her friends and they'd get used to the idea eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	25. Fashion Design

Marinette wasn't used to having people to sew for her. But she was grateful for the small stress relief. All she had to do for commissions was draw up the design and the team would translate it into a fabric creation using the measurements for her client. Having that resource, she was able to focus more on her studies and saving Paris even if she had a huge workload.

In fact, ever since Gabriel took her on as his apprentice, she was able to jump start her design career and properly earn a small living with her passion. And where she hadn't had anyone to consult on her designs before, she could discuss with Gabriel and get his guidance. That alone was a dream come true, working with her idol.

Her latest big project was putting together the wardrobe for Jagged Stone's fast approaching World Tour…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	26. Jagged Stone

It was a regular fitting with Jagged at the hotel. She'd already gotten with his crew to make sure everything was perfect for the wardrobe for the star's coming world tour. It was her biggest project to date and would be the second time her designs would make it onto international television. She was making adjustments to Jagged's new outfit when she noticed how he was acting.

She'd been working with him long enough by then to know that this was how he was when he wanted to ask someone for something himself instead of having Penny do it. He was nervous and oddly quiet, fishing for words. Penny came in with their new Producer, talking about the tour.

"We're actually about to see about taking care of that," Penny was saying. She gave a pointed look to Jagged and he cleared his throat.

"Hey Marinette," he started. Just in case he was about to say something that would shock her, Marinette put her pincushion down.

"Yeah?"

"Would you…um…," he trailed off, glancing at Penny for help.

"Go on, Jagged," she encouraged.

"You wanna go on tour with me?" he finally managed. Marinette's eyes went wide and a thousand things flashed through her mind at once. She looked to Penny for a proper explanation.

"Our stage and wardrobe director just went on maternity leave," she explained.

"Oh…um…I'd love to! I'll just have to talk to my parents first…," Marinette told them. She'd also have to consult with Master Fu and come up with a plan to handle the Ladybug situation if she got permission. Knowing her parents, Ladybug would be her only issue. "You know, since I'm still only fifteen…"

"Of course," Penny agreed. Marinette got back to work marking the adjustments to Jagged's outfit.

"I need to meet with your parents anyways," the producer noted. "Introduce myself since we haven't had time to have that conversation…this transition has been very hectic." She nodded absently and put in the last pin.

"All right, done. Be careful moving around because the pins are still in," she reminded Jagged as he started to test his freedom of movement.

"Right," he laughed. He walked to a mirror and looked himself over. "It's perfect, Marinette! As always." She smiled at the praise and wrote down the adjustments so she could finalize them later. He came back to her so she could finish up.

When she finished putting her pins away and had everything packed up, she promised Penny that she'd get with them about the tour after talking to her parents. The producer offered her a ride so they could discuss things. She nodded in agreement and they left the hotel. She liked this producer a lot better than Bob Roth, and the record company she worked for was much more agreeable to Jagged's style.

On the way to the bakery, she properly pitched the job to Marinette, explaining where they would be going and what she'd be expected to do. She also explained that the company was unsure about hiring a fifteen-year-old to handle such responsibility, but they also trusted Jagged's judgement of her. When they got to the bakery, it fortunately wasn't busy, so they were able to pull her parents aside for a quick meeting. Marinette was completely unsurprised when her parents agreed happily to the job offer, their eyes bright with pride. The producer left with a firm promise that they would take care of Marinette's passport.

"I really like her," her mother noted. "She's much more agreeable than that Bob Roth character…"

"And much more up front about what they want," Tom agreed. They then proceeded to gush over Marinette having this huge opportunity. She excused herself and went up to her room.

"This is great, Marinette," Tikki when they were in private. "But…"

"I know. I'll have to make arrangements for Ladybug…you can't go with me when we're still dealing with Hawkmoth…," she sighed.

* * *

They got everything taken care of in the month leading up to the tour. The Ladybug earrings were left with Chloé and the new temporary Ladybug introduced to the world during an Akuma attack. Marinette was a little uncomfortable watching from the side-lines, but it was for the best. If she and Ladybug left at the same time or too close together, people might suspect her identity. The attack _had_ gotten dicey, so she'd donned the Rat Miraculous and joined the fray as Multimouse, a new temporary hero. Chat had suspected that she was really Ladybug, since neither of the heroes had left the battle before Multimouse joined in, but that conversation happened after the battle and before she returned the Miraculous to Fu.

Before she knew it, she was at the tour bus with her friends and family, ready to go on a new adventure…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	27. Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

The first concert is tomorrow. I just finished mapping out the stage for the crew to put everything together. This is my first time in London. Of course, I'll be having a lot of firsts on this trip. It'll be a lot of repetition, honestly. We're in London for four days, one day for settling in and planning, then two evening concerts, and the last day is for final clean-up and getting on the road again. I didn't have a chance to write while we were on the road…but I have a hotel room all to myself. It's attached to Penny and Jagged's suite since I'm a minor, but they weren't comfortable making me room with any of the adults. This is good for me, since my stuff has too much sensitive information in it. Yes, I brought spell books with me to study in my down time. Tomorrow I'll be super busy, with all the checks I have to handle, but that won't start until after lunch. Day three will be a little more chill, with time to do a little sight seeing before the concert. I guess the hardest part of all this is that I can't share this experience with Tikki or any of my friends. Kagami offered to come along, but it's tournament season and our fencing team needs her.

World Tour: London

* * *

Dear Diary,

Oh. My. Gosh. I've been so busy since we left London! I'll just recap though. After we left London, we went straight to Dublin, then we got on a red-eye flight to New York, where we actually spent an extra day since Fang won't behave on the plane during the day. Penny got me a front row seat to see _Wicked_! It's been one city after another, mostly flying since it's quicker, but some of the closer together cities we've gone by bus. I've honestly lost track of the cities. We did go to see some landmarks, but it's kind of blurred together. America just doesn't have as interesting a history as they claim…

World Tour: Dallas

* * *

Dear Diary,

We've finally left America. We're making our way through Canada and it's so nice being able to speak French again. We're only making a few stops here, then heading through a few cities in South America before heading to Australia and then to Asia starting with Tokyo.

World Tour: Ontario

* * *

Dear Diary,

I screwed up. I should have known better than to split my attention when doing magic. I now have two living dolls to hide from everyone. Fortunately for my sanity, it seems the enchantment that keeps them moving is in the outfits I made them, not the dolls themselves. I can hardly bring myself to remove the outfits, though…

World Tour: Tokyo

* * *

Dear diary,

I…have come to a compromise with the dolls. Partly because I had them watch Toy Story in the hotel during a concert. I think they understand that I’m the only one that can see them move. They were a big help packing to move on, though they didn't seem happy with the idea of being confined to my suitcase…so I let them ride in my carryon…And it gets worse. Our bus got lost on the way from Hong Kong to Shanghai and now we're in an area where the main language is Min Chinese…which is convenient since I speak Min…but WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR EVERY CONCERT FROM SHANGHAI HOME AT THIS RATE!!

World Tour: Lost in China

* * *

Dear diary,

With my knowledge of the language, we managed to get help getting to Shanghai in time for the SECOND concert at the venue. The venue was understanding and since Jagged didn't want to leave fans hanging, he put on a morning concert for everyone who had bought tickets for the one we missed. We've made it to Dubai and everything's back on schedule.

World Tour: Dubai

* * *

Dear diary,

I just talked to Chloé. It seems that Hawkmoth has been less active in my absence. They've been dealing with Mayura and Margfeldi more often. According to Gabriel the last few Akuma have been actual criminals, so the theory is that he's less active because he's more carefully choosing his victims. Celeste thinks it means that he's in proper communication with the other two. Considering we’re pretty sure the ranged villain Mayura is that traitorous Nathalie, it’s likely. Anyways, the team wants me to focus on this job instead of worrying about hero stuff. I think the dolls agree. 

World Tour: Honolulu 

* * *

Dear diary,

Okay, so Hawaii was amazing. And I've never travelled this much. This whole trip has been amazing. We just made it to solid ground. I've had to buy three new sketchbooks just since we arrived because the ideas are just flowing. And after Gabriel ignored my last call, I'm pretty sure everyone is going to ignore me. A vacation is just what I needed, and I'm out of spell books to read. I guess I could pop into Paris for a bit, but I'd have to transform to get back after grabbing some new material. Heck, I'd probably need to have a Kwami to assist in getting there from Australia. Scratch that idea. I guess I'll just be in for a full-on vacation starting now.

World Tour: Sydney

* * *

Dear diary,

I found myself writing a spell earlier. I want to try it out but I can't because no one can know I can use magic. Gosh, I think I'm addicted to magic…Celeste told me this might happen when I ran out of old material. I need to focus on relaxing.

World Tour: Johannesburg

* * *

Dear diary,

I have officially run out of pages, so I'm going to switch to a video diary until we get back to France and I can secure this one and a new volume.

World Tour: Cairo

* * *

Dear diary,

First entry in this volume! We made it back to Paris in one piece and my city is still intact as well. Not that I had any doubts in Chloé's ability to be Ladybug. I can't believe a year has gone by so quickly. I celebrated my birthday in Rome. And I went through a growth spurt. I'm now about the same height as my father. It was fun finally getting to spend the day with my friends. Apparently while I was gone, Lila's lies finally blew up on her and when I got off the bus, all of my friends from Francoise DuPont were there to apologize. I accepted their apologies, but I can't call them my friends anymore. Juleka and the members of Kitty Section I'm on the fence about because Adrien is a good friend and he's dating Juleka's brother still. Kagami wouldn't stop touching me the whole day, she missed me just that much. No, my day was spent with my girlfriend until I finally shook her off and got the earrings back from Chloé. It was a tearful reunion with Tikki, and the original Ladybug spent the afternoon and evening patrolling with Chat Noir and Queen Bee. I did have to deal with the media for a bit over the year long switch. Their first question was if I had vanished for PARENTAL REASONS! I assured them that wasn't the case and I had just gone on a long journey to improve my abilities. It wasn't entirely a lie and they seemed to buy it. Starting tomorrow, life will return to the usual routine.

World Tour: Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	28. Alternate Career

Despite the bullying in her early years, Marinette stuck with dance. Chloé was her constant rival, but she had enough reassurance and support from her instructors to ignore the blonde's antics. And when their instructors consistently forced the pair into situations that required them to work together and pretend to be friends on stage, eventually that translated into truth. By the time they were in Troisième, they were actually decent friends.

She had broken Chloé of the habit of being a bully and making Sabrina do her homework for her. When she became Ladybug, she somehow still managed to be their class's principal dancer. The art was something she cared deeply about and it showed. Sometimes, she wondered how things would be if she had found a different thing to pursue. But those wonders faded to the wayside when she remembered how much she loved to be on stage, telling stories with her movements.

Eventually, Hawkmoth was defeated and Marinette graduated from school, started dating her superhero partner who had been her best friend in both of her lives, and became a principal dancer. As she grew older and the years and children took their toll on her, she became a teacher, hoping to inspire and change the lives of people who had been like her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


End file.
